raggz fiber art: 10.15.14

did you know that november is support your local yarn shop month? ok ok i made that up but it IS a great time to support your LYS with the holidays fast approaching - time to get things started before the crunch! raggz has a bunch of classes on the docket in the nick of time. think about signing up and learning something new or to make that special gift for someone. see list below of upcoming classes. also don't forget that i am now an approved ravelry store where you can purchase your patterns. and if you purchase them through me, i give a 10% discount on all patterns!

Our own Donna Charlesworth is out of the hospital and on the mend. she definitely needs to get a super-woman costume for halloween. i have never seen anyone breeze through brain surgery and come out on the other side with no side effects and no pain. one amazing lady! we are all thankful she is doing so well.

Happy birthday wishes go out to Lougene W (10/17), Diane M (10/17), Deb S (10/19), Laura Mc (10/20), Mary L (10/25, and Alicia L (10.26)! Hope you all have a fabulous birthday - now get over here for your $5 off birthday certificate!

happy birthday laura!

dates to remember

saturdays 10/18 and 25 - craftique fiber art group meets at craftique 10-12
monday 10/20 knit chicks meet at the bean at noon
thursday 10/23 purlin girls meet at the bean at noon
shop's open fridays 10/17, 24 and 31 from 10-6, saturdays 10/18 and 25 from 10-2, and tuesday 10/28 from 1-6
FRIDAY NOVEMBER 7 is our 3rd annual The Work of Our Hands art/craft show this year being held at the Lamplighter Restaurant on Route 22 in Delmont from 10-7. this show had been an open house at the Mock's in Murrysville until we outgrew the house. please be sure to stop by - these are all local artists, some of whom you will know. check out the event on my Facebook page for photos of some of the work you will be able to purchase at this show. time to begin your Christmas shopping and also to support local artists and crafts people and buy MADE IN AMERICA one of a kind items! please spread the word and help out show be a big success! Some of the items for sale will be pottery, fiber goodies, leather bound journals, pastries, handmade pens, goats milk soap, hand painted glass, jewelry and much much more! note that the shop will be CLOSED NOVEMBER 7th.

tuesday, october 28th there will be a make and take demo making felt acorns. for $5 you can make five acorns - instruction and all materials included

upcoming classes*

W 10/22 broomstick crochet
S 10/25 homeopathic class (if you are into doing things the natural way, this class is a MUST!
M 11/10 arm knitting
W 11/12 polish porcupine ornament
W 11/19 felt loom scarf
W 12/3 snowman purse (3 classes)
*see website for complete details and photos below of class sample

broomstick crochet

arm knitting

polish star ornament

felt loom scarf

snowman purse

just finished teaching a beginning knitting class at franklin regional. the ladies have caught on well and are on their way to making a sweater, baby blankets, a throw, and dish cloths. great group of ladies that i have enjoyed working with! i hope to see them at the shop in the future happily knitting away. last night one of the girls shared that she just found out she was pregnant and we were all so happy that all we talked about the rest of the night was babies. poor young thing got way more advice than she bargained for!

i don't know about the rest of you but i get so busy this time of year that i lose things. what i lost recently was my 'to do notebook'. it has all my computer passwords in it!!! yikes! i finally did find it underneath some other things but i have also misplaced two knitting projects and a large plastic container with wet felting supplies in it! happens to me every year at this time. HELP!!

as another year slowly comes to a close, and i begin to think about my 4th year as a yarn shop, i would like to get some feedback from you all about anything and everything. i am going to have sales to move out some of my slow moving yarn to be replaced with some new yarns. i am toying with carrying Madelain Tosh, Kraemer, Malibrigo (if i can get an account with them). please let me know some of your favorite yarns so i can make that decision. i have found that i have a hard time moving the more expensive yarns so i will have to look into it.

as you know, i have extended my hours somewhat to include saturdays. so far other than the day no one was manning the shop, sales have been slow to none. so i will do this through the end of the year and decide if its worth it or not. i may do the pgh knit and crochet show again in march to try to get my name out there. i hired a marketing firm to help get my website out there a little better and that does seem to be panning out. i also need to bite the bullet and put some ads in local magazines and knitting magazines but boy they are so costly and i didn't want to spend the money but if i don't do it….. i am only giving this business five years and i'm more than halfway at this point. so i really would like some help with any suggestions you may have. you can post to this blog or email me at toni9399@comcast.net or tell me in person. my feelings won't be hurt - honest!

i believe i will close for a couple of weeks in january to do some minor refurbishing at the shop. i plan on tearing up all the carpeting and enjoying the wood floors underneath, as i did next door at our home. just hoping i don't find a mess under there. i also plan on doing some painting and have a friend who is good at interior design to help me re-do the shop in a fun and efficient way.